


Colors Seen by Candle-Light

by Mara



Category: GARO: Makai Senki
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-28 11:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19392862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/pseuds/Mara
Summary: Kaoru is sweet but not great at understanding the men in her life.





	Colors Seen by Candle-Light

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place during Makai Senki and contains some mild character-related spoilers, but nothing plot-related. Self-indulgent fic written during an insomniac evening. Consider yourself warned.

"So you're saying…" Rei said slowly, leaning his chin on his palm, "that Leo took you to see the spirit beast. And shortly thereafter Kouga took you for a picnic and a walk in the woods. And you find this behavior odd."

Kaoru nodded. "Yes."

Rei glanced around the quiet Italian restaurant they sat in, mainly lit by the glow of candles. "And you're telling me this over a glass of wine at dinner."

"Yes," she said again, more hesitantly this time.

"Do you perhaps see a throughline here? A commonality?"

She blinked.

Rei put his head in his hands. "I _know_ you're not actually an idiot or we wouldn't all be wooing you." He looked at her between his fingers.

"Wooing?" Her eyes widened and she put her wine glass back on the table hastily.

"Wooing. Courting. Chasing. _Dating_."

Kaoru put a hand on her mouth. "All of you? Wooing me?"

"Apparently so." Rei grinned. "If it helps, I didn't realize I had so much competition until just now either."

"I don't think that helps."

Rei picked up his own wine and sipped at it to give both of them some time to regroup.

The waiter came by and took their dessert plates and Kaoru thanked him politely. When they were alone again, she looked Rei in the eyes. "Why?"

"You'll have to be more specific."

"Why me? Why would the three of you…" She waved a hand vaguely around them.

"Ah." Sitting back, Rei pursed his lips. "It has to do with your light."

She started to respond, but closed her mouth and gestured for him to go on.

"Makai Knights and Priests, it's as if we're born and live in darkness. Even when we walk in daylight, it feels tainted by the darkness we know is there. The darkness we must carry."

In the dim light, her eyes seemed even larger than normal, her mouth tempting as she bit her lip.

"But you?" He couldn't help the smile. "You carry the light with you everywhere you go. You see the beauty we forget to look for. You see hope in despair. You see us as human when we doubt our own humanity."

The flush his speech brought to her cheeks made her even more attractive and he hadn't believed that possible.

"Me?" she squeaked.

"You."

"What do I…how…" She actually wrung her hands, the dear thing.

"I don't think it would be fair to Leo or Kouga if I answered that."

She bit her lip again. "You could take advantage of this moment."

"But could I live with myself afterward?"

Her smile bloomed slowly. "You're a good man, Rei." A pause. "As are Leo and Kouga."

"I know they are." He did his best to keep the bitterness out of his voice and off his face. From her expression, he wasn't entirely successful, but she chose not to call him out on it.

They were both quiet as he paid the bill and they left, walking close together but not quite holding hands. 

When they reached his motorcycle, Kaoru looked at him. "Rei—"

"Don't." He held up a hand. "Give me a little longer before you let me down."

Scowling adorably, she poked him in the chest. "Don't put words in my mouth."

Rei barely managed to avoid suggesting other things she could put in her mouth, but she definitely caught him staring. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

"I wish I _had_ kissed you that day."

He saw confusion chase across her face, followed by shock. "That…why?"

"Because even if you had hated me afterward, I would have known what you taste like."

Her breath caught and she blushed again. "You didn't really want to kiss me then. You were trying to scare me off. And it worked for a while."

"True." Ever so softly, he brushed his thumb over her lips. "I barely knew you then."

She shivered.

Rei knew he could kiss her now and she would let him. And he knew she would enjoy it. Part of him yearned to take it, to take this opportunity to steal her away before either of his rivals worked up the courage.

Smiling, he snagged the spare helmet, offering it to her. "Shall I give you a ride back?"

"Yes." She took the helmet out of habit. "Thank you."

He would deliver her back to Kouga's home safe and untouched, because he'd done a lot of growing up this past year. When she'd had a chance to digest the idea of three suitors, he would begin again.

Kaoru climbed up behind Rei and they sped out of the city center. And if he enjoyed the feel of her pressed against his back, her arms around his waist, well, he was only human after all.

\--end--


End file.
